The Reason for the Desert - Introduction

Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord . Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Deuteronomy 8:1‭-‬5 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/deu.8.1-5.NIVUK

A number of years ago we had the privilege of visiting the country of Jordan for three days, and I have to say: it truly was a privilege. The country was quite beautiful, the locals were friendly, and fun to be around (particularly our madcap tour guide, who insisted on identifying our tour bus as 'Al Qaeda' every time we crossed an armed military checkpoint). But most of all, the landscape was what I remember from this trip. It is quite simply stunning. We visited Petra - the ancient territory of the Edomites - and Wadi Rum - the land of Laurence of Arabia. Both astonishingly beautiful desert landscapes. Yet both are unspeakably harsh. We spent time in a large Bedouin tent, eating delicious Bedouin food, but there is no way I could live the Bedouin lifestyle. For a start, I burn in the sun way too easily. I dehydrate like a prune at the mere suggestion of a hot day (sorry, I'm Scottish - in our country 'The Sun' is a newspaper). There is no way I could camp out in the cold of the desert night, then pack up at dawn and travel in the baking heat on the back of an ill-tempered beast before beginning the whole thing all over again. You might think I'm a big wuss, but this is just not for me. Deserts can be unbelievably dangerous places. The Atacama Desert in Chile, for example, combines both desert and altitude, meaning that even the locals have to chew coca leaves to survive it. Then there's the appropriately named Death Valley in California. The Sinai Desert and Sahara Desert are both known as being extraordinarily dangerous, both because of the harsh climate and the Islamic terrorists there. Every year, countless thousands die there at the hands of Islamists and people traffickers. Our experiences of life may be nowhere near as extreme, but it is more than possible for us to find ourselves in a 'desert'. Often we experience stages, or phases, in life. For example: transitioning from nursery or school or between schools or to further education, between jobs, between relationships, into retirement, or even dealing with ill-health or bereavement. These stages can make us happy or sad. However, sometimes we find ourselves in an 'in-between' phase when one thing has ended and we are waiting for something else to begin, even if we don't know what it is. This frustrating phase can become a desert. Either a loss of employment, a health issue, a bereavement or any other of a myriad of issues can leave us feeling that we are on hostile, dangerous ground. In these situations, we are often tempted to ask, 'Why? Why is this happening to me? If I have been faithful, why is God punishing me like this?' There are no clear cut answers in the Bible as to why God sends us through such times. However, just as a desert can be beautiful, God can bring beauty out of our desert times. Listen to these prophecies: For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. Isaiah 44:3 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/isa.44.3.NIVUK He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Isaiah 53:2 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/isa.53.2.NIVUK The Lord ’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field. Isaiah 32:16 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/isa.32.16.NIVUK The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendour of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord , the splendour of our God. Isaiah 35:1‭-‬2 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/isa.35.1-2.NIVUK Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. Isaiah 35:5‭-‬7 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/isa.35.5-7.NIVUK A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord ; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’ Isaiah 40:3‭-‬5 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/isa.40.3-5.NIVUK ‘The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the Lord will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it. Isaiah 41:17‭-‬20 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/isa.41.17-20.NIVUK Moses, Elijah, Elisha, John the Baptist and Jesus all have one thing in common: they all spent considerable time in deserts, normally at the start of their ministry. The whole point of a desert experience is that it is hard. It hurts. It doesn't make us happy. But that doesn't make it bad or wrong. The Bible clearly states that: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jas.1.17.NIVUK Let me pose a really thought-provoking question. If God is truly Sovereign and He is good, but yet he permits suffering and hardship and difficult desert experiences in our lives, what if these experiences are good? We know that the Bible says that: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/rom.8.28.NIVUK What if that includes suffering? What if that includes the desert? What if God uses the desert experiences in our lives to work some good? Now, I realise this does not help with the pain. Not at all. Desert experiences are hurtful. No-one can ever take that away. However, if we understand why the pain is there, it gives us a better perspective and can give us an extra capability to endure it. There are three aspects of the desert journey that are talked about here by Moses. The first is THE PURPOSE, which we will examine in my next blog.

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